Vina Alicia 'Paso de Piedra' Malbec 2013

Deep purple in color, with a spicy aroma, plum, raisins, and dark cherry-like flavors. Tannins are soft, velvety, and sweet. Very elegant, full-bodied, and a long finish which shows off its splendor and richness.

Awards,
Reviews and other Notes

90 pts Vinous/Stephen Tanzer(this vineyard in the Las Compuertas area of Luján de Cuyo was originally planted 150 years ago; no new oak): Healthy bright medium red. Cassis, licorice and menthol on the very ripe nose, with a slightly liqueur-like aspect and sexy coconutty French oak giving it a high-toned quality. At once creamy-sweet and vinous in the mouth, showing a medicinal menthol element but also a fine-grained texture and sexy French oak tones. Finishes with a suave, broad dusting of tannins, lovely vinosity and excellent length. This bottling has often been overripe in past years but not in the cool 2013 vintage. In fact, it really needs time to blossom in the bottle.
-- Stephen Tanzer

Harvest by hand, in 20k plastic cartons, in order to prevent the grapes from breaking up or other damages. Harvest takes place March 15-20 every year. Fermentation is performed in large oak foudres, with repeated remontage and pissonier, in order to achieve softer tannins and great color. Malolactic fermentation is realized partly in steel tanks and the rest in French oak barrels. The wine then returns to the oak barrels, where they age for 8 months, in order to optimize clarification and develop a more pronounced color. Bottling takes place after a very light filtering process over natural earth, in order to filter out any impurities.